Local Agent To Leg It For Cancer

/

First National Commercial Geraldton manager Dave Tyson has announced he is supporting the 2016 MACA Ride To Conquer Cancer fundraising initiative, which benefits the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.

The bike ride is held on the 15th and 16th of October and covers a total of 200 kilometres from Perth to Mandurah and back.  Each year thousands of men and women participate in the ride with over $15,000,000 being raised for cancer research during the past 4 years.

‘My wife and I have each lost family and close friends to cancer and we are both committed to raising research funds so we will one day see a cure for cancer’ says Mr Tyson.

‘To participate in the 200 kilometre ride in October, I need to raise $2,500.  So far I’ve raised $1,600 so I still have some way to go to reach my goal however the Geraldton public has been extremely generous so far.’ says Mr Tyson.

‘I’m asking everybody in my local community to get behind me with any donation they can afford. It doesn’t matter how small or large; every donation will help researchers get closer to a cure for cancer.’

To help support Dave Tyson in the MACA Ride To Conquer Cancer, donations can be made via the MACA Ride To Conquer Cancer website at http://goo.gl/7X6XO6 .

Geraldton Senior and Chapman Valley Primary to become Independent Public Schools

/

Congratulations to Geraldton Senior College and Chapman Valley Primary School who, along with over 70 public schools, have been announced to gain independent public school status for 2017.

“Being an Independent Public School is about empowering schools to be their own decision makers. We have the staff experience and knowledge to achieve positive outcomes with our students. To be recognised by the Department of Education for us to be able to continue to make the changes needed for the future is extremely positive,” said Greg Kelly, Principal of Geraldton Senior College.

“This status allows greater flexibility in how we operate as a school. We will continue to deliver high quality education for the students of the Geraldton community. We invite our community members to join with us in growing and developing as a public school. This supports our future direction as a public secondary school who offers education for those in Years 7-12 commencing in 2019.”

Application for this initiative and making the decision to go down this track began 6 months ago when staff and the community were consulted in the possibility of applying for this change of status. The application process was thorough and explored all areas of the schools including future plans. School Council chairpersons were involved in the process and lobbied heavily for their schools to be selected.

“Working closely with our parents and community was a valuable part of this process, and together we all worked extremely hard on our application. Becoming an IPS enables our school to continue to grow and improve. We couldn’t be happier with the announcement that we are able to join the ranks of other highly successful IPS schools within our system,” said Mel Hancock, Principal of Chapman Valley Primary School.

“I am excited for a fresh vibe that will come about the school and reinvigorate an enthusiasm for teaching and classroom engagement,” says Caroline Rowcroft, Chair of the College Council at Geraldton Senior College. “The school has so many strengths already and the future continues to look bright.”

Changes afoot at St Georges Beach

/

Recently installed Geotextile bags to reduce erosion of St Georges Beach.

With the recent completion of coastal protection works at St Georges Beach, Rundle Park is now undergoing the next phase of works that will improve community safety at the popular park.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said the works include installing a fence and constructing rain water overflow swales to recharge ground water in the area.

“St Georges Beach has always been a popular spot and since the replacement of playground equipment in Rundle Park the area is busier than ever before,” he said.

“Therefore, to improve community safety the City recently installed raised footpaths at the car park entrances which have been effectively slowing down vehicles entering and leaving the area.

“The planned one-way realignment of the carpark will further calm traffic whilst decreasing congestion and a fence to be installed along the west side of the playground will greatly reduce the likelihood of children running onto the road.”

Other works include rerouting storm water into sub-soil drains within the park.

“The raised footpaths are already helping funnel rainwater runoff into the grassed areas of the park where it will be collected in swales rather than letting it flow over the carpark and into the ocean,” said Mayor Van Styn.

“This will not only reduce beach erosion caused during high peak flows, the stored water will recharge ground water as well.”

Works which are scheduled to begin on Tuesday 20 September will take approximately four weeks to complete.

Power Solution Needed in CBD…..DALTON

/

WA Labor Candidate for Geraldton, Lara Dalton has backed calls for the removal dangerous and unsightly power poles in the Geraldton CBD.

“Over the years our streets have been widened, yet the poles haven’t been moved. They are now far too close to passing traffic and create a traffic hazard.

“Removing these poles and putting the lines underground would beautify our CBD and more importantly, make our town safer,” Ms Dalton said.

Ms Dalton called on the Liberal National Government to work with Western Power and provide adequate funds to get the job done.

“Despite this issue being raised in Parliament in 2013 by Labor MLC Darren West, the poles are still there.

“This is not a massive infrastructure project and could funded from the existing budget.”

Ms Dalton said that Geraldton had not been treated favourably by the Barnett Liberal National Government since 2008.

“We are still waiting on the promised Stage 2 of the Geraldton Regional Hospital, a mental health facility and a 138-room Aboriginal Hostel.

Why you should never do "Share to Win" competitions

/

Over the last year or so I've noticed a proliferation of "share to win" competitions on Facebook. 

Everything Geraldton has run a number of "like to win" comps in the past, and they're a nice way for our audience to win a prize. 

BUT, it may interest you to know that it's actually against Facebook's terms to make "sharing" or tagging a friend a condition of entry.

Business owners beware: if you post something with "Share this post to win" on your Facebook page, you actually risk Facebook shutting your entire page down. 

Here's the link. (Section E 3)

Why is this a problem?

Apart from the fact that very few people want to be constantly spammed with "share to win" posts in their newsfeed, there's a technical reason why you cannot make sharing to win a condition of entry on a Facebook page:

A page owner has no way of knowing who shared a post, unless the sharer has their privacy settings set to public.

Recently a competition appeared in my Facebook news feed. I clicked and had a look, and the post had over 490 shares. But when I clicked on the "shares" link, I am only shown 83 names. So although 490 people think they've entered a competition, really only 83 people have a chance of winning.

Most Facebook users have their privacy settings set to "friends". So when they share a post from a page, the page administrators cannot see their name. When they click the link to see who shared a post, Facebook only shows them the names of people who shared it publicly. 

When you enter a competition that asks you to "share", the page admin then checks the names of who shared the post, and picks a winner. The problem is, your name probably isn't even on the list, even though you shared it with all your friends. 

Unless you went and deliberately changed your privacy settings to "Public" (which most people do NOT want to do) your name isn't in the draw to win anything, despite you sharing the post. 

If people are following the terms of entry, but they're technically not in the running to win because the business cannot see the names of who shared the post, then not only has that business broken Facebook's terms, but there could be legal or ethical implications. It's like obtaining a raffle ticket but your entry never goes in the barrel, it goes in the bin. 

Running a competition in Western Australia is covered under the GAMING AND WAGERING COMMISSION ACT 1987, Section 104. 

Section 3 states: the permit holder shall ensure that every ticket or chance sold or subscription received is included in the drawing of a standard lottery; ... 

Section 11 states: "Records relating to the lottery shall be maintained for a period of twelve months and shall be made available to an authorised officer of the Gaming and Wagering Commission or a Police Officer upon request."

So not only does anyone who has been told they're in the draw HAVE TO BE ACTUALLY IN THE DRAW, but you have to be able to show the Police that this is the case, for the next 12 months. 

"Share to win" competitions on Facebook conflict with this section of the Act, because the method of entry is not consistently measurable by the business owner. 

But I didn't know!

Neither did we until a few years ago. But once it was explained it made a lot of sense. We still get a lot of businesses asking Everything Geraldton to run Facebook comps with "sharing" as a condition of entry, and while we acknowledge it's tempting because of the amazing reach those posts get, we don't think it's ethical, and it's a clear breach of Facebook's terms.

We will still run "Like to enter" competitions on Facebook, which are quite popular with many of our followers.

What should I do?

If you run a page, our advice is to make sure you never make "sharing" a condition of entry for a competition. "Like to win" is still ok. Or "visit our website and fill in this form", or whatever you can accurately measure. If whoever manages the social media for your business isn't aware of Facebook's terms, and the laws around Trade Promotions in WA, they could be getting your company into hot water. 

If you're just a Facebook user who sees these "share to win" competitions all the time, it's up to you if you want to spam your friends. But you'll need to change your privacy settings to public to even have a chance of winning, which means ANYONE, even people not logged into Facebook, can see your posts. 

But I've seen lots of organisations do this?

So have we. We've seen government agencies do it, large media companies, social media professionals, and lots more.

We haven't named or singled out any company in Geraldton doing this, because it's likely they simply didn't know how Facebook's sharing mechanism worked. Social media is still very new and confusing to a lot of us. 

In addition to the confusion, few of us read the terms and conditions when we sign up for anything, even a Facebook page. 

But we hope that once people understand how sharing and privacy settings work on Facebook, they'll realise "share" is not a suitable way to gather entrants for a competition. "Liking" on Facebook is perfect, though. 

Footnote: It may be argued that by "liking" the post as well, people have entered the competition, even if their "share" isn't visible to the page admin. The two arguments against this logic are that 1. it's still a breach of the ACT, and 2. people who "like and share" from a shared post on their friend's page will have their share appear on the original page's list, but NOT their LIKE. In a nutshell: Many people's names will only appear in the list of those who "shared" the post, not those who "liked" it. 

Footnote: Another new type of competition is the "Post on your page with this hashtag". While the rules around these are also ambiguous, it's worth noting that, again, unless the person posts with their privacy settings set to Public, their post will never be able to be seen by anyone other than their friends, and they won't be in the draw for anything.

 

City reminds residents of firebreak deadline

/

The City of Greater Geraldton is reminding property owners and occupiers that the 5 October deadline to clear firebreaks is rapidly approaching.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn is strongly urging property owners and occupiers in the Geraldton region to adhere to the firebreak deadline.

“The temperature may be cool now, but bushfire season is just around the corner and we need to be prepared,” he said.

“Firebreaks are a crucial element that protect not only your own property from bushfires, but they can also stop fires from spreading to adjacent properties.”

Firebreaks serve a valuable role in protecting properties from bushfires during the summer months, even more so now that higher than average rainfall will see an increase in flammable scrub.

Mayor Van Styn also reminded property owners who may not have cleared their firebreaks yet that they are required by Local Government law to do so.

“Once the 5 October deadline has passed, City Rangers will begin conducting fire prevention work inspections and they will have the power to issue infringements for non-compliance,” he said.

“Don’t risk the $250 fine, or worse, losing your life or your home to a devastating fire. Clear your firebreaks and keep them maintained throughout the year.”

Property owners are expected to maintain their firebreaks from 5 October 2016 until 1 May 2017.

Small vacant lots under 0.4ha must be slashed and have Wattle bush removed. Occupied blocks require a three metre clearance of all flammable material around structures and buildings and Wattle bush must be managed.

Larger blocks will also require a mineral earth firebreak installed along the entire external boundary of the land.

To find out more information, pick up a 2016-17 Firebreak Notice from the Civic Centre, or download a copy from the City’s website at www.cgg.wa.gov.au.

SUPER "SUITE" SALE

/

!!!!!!!!!!!!SUPER "SUITE" SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Come down and check out our huge range of dining, bedroom and lounge suites!!
There is Plenty of Super "Suite" Deals to choose from!!!!!!!!!!!

FREE GIFT WITH EVERY SALE OVER $700
Mention this add when you Buy any suite and get free delivery and $50 OFF your purchase

Swift lounge suite $2049

Deco Queen bed suite $2459


Moza pce dining suite $1899

 

Text message scam warning

/

ANZ are warning customers of a scam text that is doing the rounds. ​

Here's an example of what it looks like. ​

​

There are two main types of scams like this that circulate by text.  

The first tries to get you to submit personal data for nefarious purposes. Be aware of this. 

The second is even more maliscious.  This is where hackers can essentially take over your phone just by you clicking a link. It may not be obvious they have done this at first, but they can essentially control the camera, microphone, and see everything you do without your knowledge. 

If you are running an old version of Android or iOS (iPhone) your phone can sometimes be hacked with a simple text message.  With one particular Android vulnerability, you don't even need to open the message. 

Unfortunatly for most Android users, security updates are few and far between. Unless your carrier issues a security update for your phone (which they rarely do) you're pretty vulnerable all of the time. You can root your device and install the latest version of Android yourself, if you don't mind spending a bit of time mucking around. 

Apple recently found and fixed a security vulnerability in their iPhone, so if you have the latest software then you're ok. 

As a general rule though, don't click on links from unknown sources. And don't forward links you are unsure about.  

And keep your iPhone running the latest version of iOS.  

Wildcats in Geraldton for two games and a coaching clinic

/

The Perth Wildcats are in Geraldton this week. Today they attended a breakfast at the foreshore and challenged a few people from the City to a 3 on 3 shoot out. The Wildcats are playing 2 pre season games, against our Buccs and the Adelaide 36's. They're also putting on some coaching seminars. For game tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/perth-wildcats-vs-sk-electr…
For coaching info head here: http://www.cgg.wa.gov.au/…/…/perth-wildcats-coaching-seminar

Temporary closure of the Foreshore toddler play area

/

9 September 2016

The City of Greater Geraldton wishes to advise the Foreshore toddler play area will be temporarily closed from Tuesday 13 September to Thursday 15 September 2016 to undertake maintenance work to the soft fall.

The toddler sand playground is not affected and will remain open to the public.

Members of the community are requested to exercise caution and obey all warning signs and directions from authorised City personnel and contractors.

The City apologises for any inconvenience these works may cause.

If you have any queries please contact Jeremy Henderson, Project Supervisor on 08 9956 6600 or email council@cgg.wa.gov.au.

Foodvana: The Food Delivery Service Delivering to Geraldton

/

When it comes to ordering in, food delivery options have always been somewhat limited in Geraldton. 

Sure you can order ahead to pick up food but still time consuming and you still have to leave the house. What if you don’t live close or you’re busy at work? Maybe you have hands full with the kids or you have had a few drinks.

Well, imagine a world where you can order and have delivered to your door amazingly fresh restaurant quality food like – 

  • A real burger
  • Thai beef salad
  • A fresh home-made pie
  • A spicy vindaloo
  • The perfect pasta
  • Wood-fired pizza
  • Delicious dumplings
  • Tasty jaffles
  • Delightful kebabs
  • Fresh fruit smoothies
  • Mouth-watering Mexican 
  • And so much more… 

Foodvana, a brand new Geraldton based business is planning on making that a reality!

Foodvana is a website and free app expanding the landscape for food deliveries as we know it in Geraldton. By partnering with popular cafes and restaurants they will be able to bring your favourite meals straight to your home or office.

Mark Gould the creator of Foodvana said “Foodvana is about bringing great food and drinks to your door so you don’t have to settle for the ‘usual’ just because it’s easier. We want to bring the technology of modern day conveniences to the regional areas which usually get overlooked.” 

Ultimately, Foodvana is more than just a food delivery service – it aims to help connect local businesses to more customers in the wider community. This means more choices and convenience for the customer and more business for the cafes and restaurants, a win-win scenario for Geraldton. 

“Dine in or dine out – we all like to do both – but Foodvana is hoping to open up a new revenue stream for restaurants by giving them the platform to display their menus and deliver their food to customers who are unable to make it to them.” Mark said

Delivery fee will start from $5 whether you are ordering for one or a party of five*. What’s more you can track your order in real time. Real Food, Unreal Delivery.
*Delivery fee depends on your distance from the CBD

Go to the Foodvana website to register and be kept up to date when the deliveries will start – www.foodvana.com.au and check out the Facebook page to see which restaurants and cafes are already on board.

If you are a restaurant or café that would like to join forces with Foodvana you can contact Mark at info@foodvana.com.au

Male Arrested and Vehicle Seized Following Police Pursuit

/

At about 11:00am, Saturday 10th September 2016, Mid West-Gascoyne Traffic officers were conducting patrols of Rifle Range Road, Rangeway and attempted to stop a Ford Falcon sedan.

It is alleged that the driver, a 24 year old male from Morawa attempted to evade Police, abandoning the vehicle and fleeing on foot a short time later.

Police apprehended the male who was charged with Reckless Driving (to escape pursuit by Police) and No Authority to Drive – Suspended.

The vehicle was seized for 28 days and the male will face Geraldton Magistrates Court at a later date. 

Female Arrested – Stealing of a Motor Vehicle and Traffic Offences

/

At about 2:00am, Monday 12th September 2016, a white Ford utility was stolen from a Beachlands premises.  Police located the stolen vehicle within the hour in the Beachlands area.

A 36 year old female was allegedly found in possession of the vehicle and subsequently charged with Steal Motor Vehicle, Exceed 0.08 and No Authority to Drive – Suspended.

Police wish to praise the numerous members of the public who reported suspicious activity in the Beachlands area prior to the woman being apprehended.  Their timely reports greatly assisted Police efforts which led to her arrest.

The female was refused bail and will attend Geraldton Magistrates Court at a later date. 

How can I help the Police?

/

 Make it Tougher For Crooks – Geraldton Police Seek Your Help

Geraldton Police are calling for the community to team up with local Police to tackle crime, to make it tougher for crooks.

In what are on their own, simple steps, small actions that the community can take go a long way to prevent crime and assist Police in a variety of ways.

These are some steps that the community can take to stand against crime:

• Timely reporting of suspicious behaviour – Police need to know what you see when you see it

• Get to know your neighbours – More eyes on the street

• Register your Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) with WA Police through your local Police Station

• Even when at home, lock your doors and windows.  NEVER leave keys in locks and consider what a crook may look for when targeting your home, vehicle or business.These may include valuables left in plain sight, a concealed approach (overgrown bushes etc) and limited or no lighting.

Positive feedback on Gero drivers from a visitor

/

I had a recent trip to Gero and whilst working as a relief Traffic Warden, I found the need to commend Gero drives for their consideration and courtesy on the roads. I am pleasantly surprised at the habit I noted of some driving SUVs and larger vehicles who actually stop slightly back from a road junction to let the smaller vehicles SEE AROUND THEM! AWESOME! Everyone who drives a car knows how frustrating it is trying to see around these larger vehicles...much safer too! Oh, and the parking bays at most shops are larger too! Thumbs up Gero :D

- Di Neil